welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani. here is a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. engineers at the fukushima nuclear plant are working on new measures to stop radioactive groundwater from leaking into the ocean as they map out a costly and complicated long-term plan. north korean authorities may be doubling their uranium enrichment capability allowing them to build two nuclear weapons a year.

and crowd sourcing inventions. an american company is tapping a growing online community to revolutionize how products are made. concerns about the situation at japan's damaged nuclear plant is growing. government officials say 300 tons of radioactive groundwater could be seeping into the pacific ocean every day. plant operator tokyo electric power company, or tepco, is about to make another attempt to contain the leak. but without accurate information on what's happening below fukushima daiichi, determining the effectiveness of the work will be a challenge. government officials say about 1,000 tons of groundwater may flow from a hillside into the soil below the plant every day. of that, about 300 tons filters through a contaminated area and is laced with radioactive substances. then it seeps into the sea.

another 300 tons bypasses the contaminated area. the remaining 400 tons of water is leaking into the basement of the buildings housing the four reactors. the water is contaminated and it's being pumped out and stored. crews at the plant have been injecting soil hardening chemicals into the ground on part of the site to stop the water from leaking into the ocean, but there are concerns that effort hasn't been enough to stem the flow. tepco managers say crews will bore a well as an interim measure and then pump out some of the water starting friday. they're also planning to sink about 30 five-meter long pipes into the ground. workers will use the pipes to pump out groundwater starting next week. they hope to drain 100 tons per day. long term they're considering freezing the soil beneath the buildings. crews would bury pipes and inside them circulate coolant kept at minus 40 degrees

celsius. the frozen soil would act as a dam to prevent groundwater from reaching the contaminated area. but it could take one to two years to complete the project. and maintaining the cooling operations would be extremely costly. the industry minister says the government will take the lead in drafting a new plan to completely halt the leakage of contaminated water. he attributed the current situation to tepco's lack of effort. a japanese scientist is questioning the way the government officials have handled the nuclear crisis. professor takashi ishimara has been studying the impact of radiation on the ocean since the accident nearly two and a half years ago. he says officials should have gotten involved with the groundwater problem much sooner. >> translator: the government should not have left tepco to investigate the problem on its own, waiting until now to get involved. they should have taken the lead

in finding the solution and clarifying what needs to be done. >> the professor also says government officials must pay more attention to the impact of radiation on marine life. >> translator: levels of radioactive cesium have come down in a lot of fish. but we still sometimes see the same high levels as before. we need to find out exactly why. otherwise, we won't be able to ease the concerns of people in this country. >> ishimaru says government officials are not giving enough information to scientists in japan or other countries. he says they must be more proactive or lose international trust. leaders in north korea may be stepping up their nuclear weapon program. a u.s. think tank says satellite photos suggest they've doubled the size of their uranium enrichment plant. researchers say the north koreans may now be able to build

two weapons a year. the researchers work at the institute for science and international security. they analyze satellite photos of a uranium enrichment facility in yongbyon. the photos were taken from march to july. photos show north koreans had almost doubled the floor size of their uranium enrichment building. the researchers say workers are building another facility nearby. they say that facility may be connected with the production of fuel for a light water reactor. north korean officials say they need the reactor to power generation. north korea disabled the yongbyon complex under a six-party agreement in 2007. they've since announced plans to restart an experimental reactor there and expand their nuclear development program. a group of united nations investigators will visit panama to inspect an arms shipment that

was detained near the panama canal. the shipment had been traveling from cuba to north korea. a vessel registered in north korea was found to be carrying military equipment. panamanian authorities say the shipment may violate a u.n. arms embargo against north korea. the u.n. security council's committee on north korean sanctions say the six-member team will visit panama for three days beginning august 13th. panamanian officials seized the ship last month. they found the obsolete equipment under sacks of sugar in the ship's hull. cuban authorities say the cargo included planes and missiles they were sending to north korea to be repaired. panamanian officials have charged the vessel's 35 crew members with endangering the nation's safety. u.n. ambassador sylvie lucas of luxembourg chairs the sanctions committee and says member nations have commended panama for its handling of the incident. she said the committee would

wait for the inspection report before discussing whether the shipment violates the sanctions. lucas said that they have so far received no explanation on the matter from north korea. relatives of japanese citizens abducted to north korea continue their push for the return of their loved ones. at a rally on the japan sea coast they have appealed for help to bring the abductees back. the rally in niigata prefecture drew a crowd of supporters. the government has identified 17 japanese citizens as abductees. saki yokota's daughter megumi was kidnapped in migata in 1977. >> translator: my daughter megumi was just 13 when she was kidnapped by north korean agents. my last memory is of her wearing a school uniform. but the reality is she will be 50 years old soon. i miss my daughter with all my heart. but for what purpose? >> yokota says she will never give up until her daughter comes

home. hitomi soga and her mother were abducted by north korean agents in 1978, also in niigata. soga returned in 1982 but her mother is still missing. >> translator: i have a watch that my mother gave me before the incident. this is a treasure that binds me to my mother and encourages me when i feel down. >> soga asked people at the rally to put themselves in the place of the abductees waiting to be rescued and called for an early resolution of the abduction issue. chinese patrol vessels circled japanese territorial waters around disputed islands for 28 hours until they finally left. this was the longest intrusion by their government vessels since japan nationalized the senkaku islands last september.

officials of the japan coast guard say four chinese coast guard patrol vessels entered the japanese waters in the east china sea on wednesday morning. they remained there until noon on thursday. a ship carrying japanese local assembly members had been cruising in the area at the same time. the chinese vessels remain just waters. coast guard officials are warning them not to approach japan's waters again. chinese government ships have intruded on 38 days this year. japan controls the senkakus. china and taiwan claim them. >> translator: the latest intrusion was the longest so far and is extremely deplorable. >> kishida says the intrusions are backed by force which is unacceptable in the international community. he said the chinese government should acknowledge japan's protest. japan's top diplomat summoned chinese embassy minister han xi

chong to convey the message, but han repeated the senkaku islands belong to china. he said china cannot accept the protest. activists in hong kong have postponed a trip. st 1h.nitially planned to land that the day japan commemorates the end of world war ii. members of the action committee for defending the islands spoke on board the boat anchored at a port in hong kong. their leader said they cannot leave in time because repairs to the vessel will not be finished. >> translator: we couldn't depart on august 12th, but once hong kong authorities finish the checks on the vessel, we want to leave within two weeks. >> last year japanese authorities detained some members of the group and later deported them after they landed on one of the senkaku islands. activists based in taiwan say they will leave by thursday for the disputed islands, even if

the hong kong group cannot start its voyage by then. china's exports in july rose for the first time in two months but the growth is still slower than in recent years. customs officials say exports last month stood at $186 billion. that's up 5.1% from a year earlier, and reverses a drop of just over 3% in june. china's exports had risen nor than 20% in 2011. the yuan has been appreciating against other major currencies. the single digit growth in exports such as that has harmed the competitiveness of chinese goods. imports were also up 10.9% to $168 billion. that's the first increase since april. japan's cabinet has approved a midterm plan to regain fiscal health. the plan lays out steps to achieve fiscal goals in the government's economic and fiscal

policies. the plan calls for cutting the primary balance deficit in half by fiscal 2015. that's compared to fiscal 2010. the gap between tax revenues and government spending to carry out policies amounted to 6.6% of gross domestic product in 2010. to achieve the target, the plan says the government will make its utmost effort to limit the issuance of new bonds. that's to ensure the amount will not exceed the previous year's level. but the plan does not specify if and when japan will go ahead with the planned consumption tax hike scheduled for next april. prime minister shinzo abe has instructed cabinet ministers to set up a panel. this will receive views from various parts on the consumption tax hike and its impact on economic growth. abe says he will make a final decision on whether or not to go ahead with the tax hike after considering those opinions. policymakers at the bank of

japan have kept their monthly assessment of the country's economy unchanged. they also agreed to continue the current monetary easing measures. the policy board members wrapped up their two-day meeting on thursday. the boj describes the state of the japanese economy as starting to recover moderately. the central bank has made an upward revision for each of the seven months through july. the bank officials say it is showing signs of improvement as corporate profits are recovering. personal spending is steady due to an improvement in consumer appetite. the policymakers unanimously agreed to continue the monetary easing measures introduced in april to achieve a 2% inflation target. boj governor kuroda gave a statement after the policy meeting. he said a planned increase in japan's consumption tax next april will not interfere with efforts to end deflation.

>> translator: the economy will maintain its positive cycle despite an expected short-term spike and ebb in demand before and after the tax hike. and there's a high possibility of continued growth. >> kuroda said the boj's monetary policies might become less effective if the market sees the government falling behind in efforts to rein in debt. a new survey suggests japanese workers are feeling a bit less optimistic. officials at the cabinet office released the results of their monthly economy watchers survey for july. they say business sentiment among employees has worsened for four months in a row. the survey asks more than 2,000 workers about their views of the economy compared with three months ago. the score for july was 52.3. that's down 0.7 points from the previous month. a reading over 50 suggests optimism about the economy. some respondents said they saw a lull in sales of jewelry and

other luxury goods. others said department store sales in july were lackluster because many shops began their summer discount promotions earlier than usual. the survey results for the future economic outlook remained unchanged at 53.6. cabinet office officials say expectations for a recovery remain high. workers anticipate a rise in demand ahead of a planned increase in the consumption tax. japan's current account surplus in the january to june period was the second lowest since 1985. a weaker yen boosted the trade deficit. the finance ministry announced that the country's current account surplus for the first six months this year stood at about $33 billion. the nation's trade deficit was about $44 billion. it grew nearly 75% in yen terms from the same period last year to the highest level on record. the weaker yen pushed up the import costs for crude oil and

natural gas. rising imports of smartphones from china were also a factor. meanwhile, the income balance surplus rose more than 19% to about $98 billion. this was mainly due to higher dividend payment from overseas investments. the internet has made it easier for people to do any number of things. one business is using it to change how products are invented. it encourages people to submit ideas and then develops the promising ones. nhk world's maiko mcateer shows us how this new version of crowd sourcing is taking shape. >> reporter: take a look at this power strip. you can twist it in any way you'd like. you can fit it between those

tight spaces between your furniture. big, chunky adapters not a problem. in just two years, more than 600,000 units have sold. it's one of 75 new products introduced by quirky, a business that develops products through crowd sourcing. this gadget sprays juice directly out of lemons and limes. and this one sucks out egg yolks in a blink. cleaning it up is easy, too. this wine bottle opener has five functions and it's stylish. it even has a stopper that helps keep leftover wine fresh. quirky started four years ago as a small start-up. now they employ more than 100 people. major retail chains across the u.s. eagerly await the firm's latest inventions.

one reason for quirky's success is the company's website. more than 400,000 people have signed up online as members. membership is free, but the company charges $10 for submitting a product idea. once an invention is approved, the firm takes care of everything from financing and engineering to distribution and legalities. but first, each idea is screened. like this small magnetic light for handbags. members pitch in with opinions and suggestions. >> anyone else have any thoughts? >> reporter: the staff meets every week to see which inventions show promise. the meeting is streamed live on the web. members are encouraged to take part in the realtime discussion. today, 13 ideas are on the table, including a new kitchen brush to clean knives and forks.

>> conventional kitchen brush will clean that out, no problem. in terms of manufacturing, this is like a lot more complicated. >> you aren't supposed to put it in the dishwasher because of the temperature. >> the staff are deadlocked over whether to go ahead. so they decide to let the members vote. more than 50% vote in favor of developing the brush. it's gotten the green light to become a product. >> that it is required to develop trust with our community. to let them in, to let them see exactly what's happening with their idea, with their product, with our process. our successes, our failures. this is how you establish a trusted relationship. >> when the product goes on sale, profits are divided among the originator of the idea and members who made suggestions online. some inventors have earned as much as $350,000. as crowd sourcing takes off,

large corporations are taking note. general electric is just one such company that's joining the crowd. it's decided to team up with quirky to engage their online community. michael mcateer, nhk world, new york. a human rights group is showing the world the extent of the destruction caused by the civil war in syria. amnesty international worked with an american science organization to analyze satellite photos of the northern city of aleppo. the group released photos taken last december and this past february. spokespersons say a comparison shows the clear impact of air strikes by military forces loyal

to president bashar al assad. they add that more than 100 residents died in missile attacks in february. parts of the old city of aleppo have been hit. the area is a unesco world heritage site. syria's civil war has been going on for two and a half years. united nations officials say more than 100,000 people have died as a result of fighting between the military and opposition forces. unusually high ocean temperatures are helping fishermen in northern japan. they are catching a lot more bluefin tuna than usual. fishermen brought home 95 of the fish in the ten days through wednesday. they only caught seven in the same period last year. >> translator: i've never seen such a big catch before. >> officials of the fisheries research agency say the sea temperature off hokkaido is about 15 degrees celsius. that's three degrees warmer than

usual, ideal for bluefins. an agency expert say the warmer water is attracting the tuna and the fish they feed on. a heat wave across japan and china. rachel ferguson from the weather team has more on this. rachel? hi there. yes, it has been very hot for a while across china and up into the korean peninsula as well. we've been seeing a couple very hot days. in fact, these are the heat warnings and advisories that we saw on thursday. quite a large swath here of eastern asia being affected. let's show you some video out of hangzhou to show you what's going on. people desperately trying to keep cool with fans and umbrellas to protect themselves from this very oppressive heat. in hangzhou temperatures reached 41.1 degrees on wednesday. this is the hottest day it's been since records began in 1951. a record-breaking temperatures were felt right across china and taiwan today on thursday. some of the hottest temperatures

yet amid an already potent and long heat wave. now with the extreme weather expected to last, many people are being asked to limit their outdoor activities. that's the advice coming from the government but the extreme heat and dry conditions have also damaged at least one-third of the tea trees creating a large economic impact for the area. now we have drought conditions across much of china here. in fact in some areas there was about -- we usually see an average of 130 millimeters of rain for the month of july. they only saw 8 millimeters. so that's the kind of really intense situation we're looking at as we head on into the next three days, unfortunately temperatures are not likely to improve much. tokyo seeing temperatures rise to 36 degrees on saturday. shanghai, not seeing the 40 there as you have on wednesday and thursday. but not far off it. so it is going to be another couple of days.

another weekend of intense heat. there will be rain, though, up towards the north. thunderstorms, in fact, moving across the korean peninsula and northern japan. tohoku as well as hokkaido and toward the south as well. we have another low pressure system sitting here to the east of the philippines. this could be our next named storm. this developing at the moment. and then a remnant low over the north of indochina which was a named storm that made landfall in northern vietnam yesterday. it's now a remnant low but still bringing significant rainfall. you could see another 100 millimeters or so for portions of northern thailand and laos. as we go into the americas and more heavy rain here. southern portions of missouri have seen more than 250 millimeters of rain in the last 24 hours. and that wasn't even the only round of rain. this week we've seen about three rounds of rain this workweek coming through oklahoma and kansas and heading on into missouri. so this is really significant rain falling on already saturated land. flash flooding will be a problem.

concerns certainly along with golf ball-sized hail. lots of thunder and lightning. could see the flood threat moving up. heavy rain here and also up in the mid-atlantic. down towards the south, oppressive heat warnings and watches posted for you. houston, 38 degrees. into louisiana, along the gulf coast as well, you'll really be feeling temperatures a lot hotter than that when you take into consideration the humidity that's going to go along with it. storms moving through central europe. these are actually going to break up into two systems. one heading toward the southeast. another one pushing up in towards finland and the northeast of europe, both could bring pretty intense storms. and they are dragging this very cold air, much cooler air in behind it, which is going to be bringing temperatures down to around average temperatures. take a look at the big difference. the big drop between thursday and saturday. some places dropping as much as 19 degrees. talking about you, vienna, 39, down to just 20 on saturday. here's your extended forecast.

math whizzes have competed to make the fastest calculations with a japanese abacus. more than 520 people took part in the annual contest in kyoto. the contestants got a chance to show off their mental arithmetic skills. they had to add 15 different three-digit numbers flashed on a screen. a banker won the overall competition. he picked up his sixth title without making any mistakes. >> translator: i'm so glad and relieved that i was able to win the contest with a perfect score. >> he says he wants to set a new record next year with a seventh

victory. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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♪ the theme of today's spring paper. washi, paper made of a special japanese technique known as nagashazuki features exquisitely elegant designs created by the unpredictable movement of water.